Abstract
Objectives: Our aim was to compare the effects of an unwanted intrusive thought on executive function in a group of people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and in a healthy group. Method: The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Adult (BRIEF-A) was used to measure executive dysfunction in everyday life in people with OCD. The study participants underwent either an intrusive thought induction or neutral thought induction prior to the administration of three computer-based tests of executive function. Results: The BRIEF-A results confirmed the impairment of executive function in everyday life for patients with OCD. In the number-letter task, patients with OCD displayed a longer reaction time (relative to the controls). There were no intergroup differences in the local-global task. In the go/no-go task, there was a significant impairment (p = 0.03) in the OCD group (with more commission errors than controls). There was a non-significant trend towards an effect of thought induction in both groups in the number-letter task. However, intrusive thought induction did not have a greater effect than neutral thought induction on the OCD group in any of the tasks. Conclusions: Intrusive thought induction has no effect on executive function in the two groups. The two groups differed with regard to two executive tasks.
Highlights
We found an effect of group on the behavioral aspects of executive function in the self-reported Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Adult (BRIEF-A)
Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) reported that they have poor executive function in everyday life, with impaired mental flexibility and response inhibition than control participants
The local-global task did not reveal a difference between patients with OCD and control participants, and so appears to be less effective for assessing mental set-shifting in the context of OCD
Summary
Executive functions correspond to a set of processes involved in facilitating adaptation to novel situations—notably when habits or learnt cognitive skills are not sufficient [12]. These functions include “planning, goal-directed behaviors, self-regulation, maintenance of cognitive set and set-shifting ability, impulse control, motor inhibition, sustained attention, and working memory” The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is the most commonly used test of set-shifting abilities On this basis, 4 studies reported impaired abilities in patients with OCD (compared with healthy individuals) and 8 studies did not.
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